This is something that has plagued me for years – should I leave my computer running all the time or not.

It is also a topic that has caused much debate.

Leave your PC running 24/7

Some people say that it’s better to leave your PC running around the clock than to shut it off at night and then boot it up in the morning. The reasoning behind this side of the story, is that if you never shut down your computer you will save wear and tear on it components and, therefore, extend the life of your machine.

Shut if off and boot it up in the morning

Others say that if you care at all about energy consumption (electricity is expensive after all) and how big of a carbon footprint you are leaving – turn off your computer at night. It takes less energy to boot your computer in the morning than to leave it running overnight. Plus there is the fact that many operating systems, Windows included, perform various important housekeeping tasks during shutdown and startup — another very good reason for turning the system off at night.

Personally, I’ve always been the type to shut off my computer at night when I go home (obviously I pay the electric bill plus we have a total of 6 computers in our office) and then power it up in the morning. Sure it takes a few minutes for my computer to boot up and load everything, but what the heck – I check voice mail while I’m waiting. Not having instant access to email as soon as I sit down in my chair is not going to hurt me in any way – while the increased electric bill could certainly put a bigger dent into our checking account!

Today I was going through a bunch of old PC World magazines and found an article written by Robert Strohmeyer about this very subject. Robert stated in his article that he had interviewed some of the top techies at HP, Seagate, and other major companies, and that nobody seemed to know how this rumor was born. But they all agreed on one thing “leaving your PC running 24/7 was NOT a good thing” and that “the claim of leaving your computer running overnight was good for it – was totally bogus.”

An HP Techie, Ken Bosley, who has spent years researching hard-drive reliability says that “you shouldn’t waste energy to extend the life of a computer by even a very small amount” and discounts the notion that “shutting down and starting up a computer puts undue stress on the components, noting that most systems are retired because of obsolescence, not because of hardware failure.”

Where do you stand on this issue? Do you shut your computer off at night or always leave it running… and why?

Selecting the right gaming desktop computer can be a tough call. There are so many quality makes and models out there it can be overwhelming. You might be tempted to forgo some fancy options for a cheaper price. This can be risky.

If you go for economy over features, you may end up disappointed a few months down the line if it won’t run the latest game on the market. Here are some important tips that will help you be more comfortable with your selection.

Resolution. It’s critical that the PC you buy will support your LCD’s native resolution. It’s even better if it can support its maximum resolution, too.

So what is native resolution? Native resolution refers to the number of pixels it supports without scaling the image up or down. If your PC doesn’t have a video card that supports native resolution you may sacrifice image quality.

Interface type. Take note that DVI cables will often provide a sharper image than when VGA cables are used. Be sure that the video connectors on the PC match the monitor. Converters are available but they don’t always work. They may also sacrifice image quality.

If you’re a high end gaming enthusiast, you shouldn’t buy a computer with integrated video. Sure, it may save you money but you will sacrifice quality. To get that low price it likely means that other components were not included.

A better option is to buy a PC that has a dedicated video card. Do some research online and read some reviews before making your choice. You should be able to find out if the one you’re considering is powerful enough to play your games with the desired video resolution. A PCI express 2.0 card will give you what you need for serious gaming.

However, if you only play Flash or Facebook games, you can stick with integrated video.

There are differences between netbooks and laptops that you should be aware of before parting with money, mostly because opting for a netbook may result in a nightmare if you start out with the wrong expectations and want the little thing to do more than it can. This usually results in an unhappy customer, you, and an honest, but unnecessarily bad review on the page of the web shop you bought it from.

To avoid jumping head first into the darkness, you should be aware of the main differences between netbooks and laptops.

1. Netbooks are often cheaper than laptops. You might have noticed this since this is the first thing that makes people pay extra attention to them. Dont decide based on the price alone though, and you will be able to choose the computer that meets your personal needs.

2. Assuming from the name some people think that netbooks are only good for browsing the net. After using one for 6 months as the primary computer I would say that it is not true one bit. If you dont plan on playing too recent games, or try to have too many windows open, you will find it a pleasant experience to work on a mini. On the other hand laptops are good for everything, cheaper laptops are more limited than a more expensive one, just as you would expect.

3. There is no optical drive in netbooks while all laptops have one. This may put you off, but there are simple workarounds to the problem. Most software is available online. If you have a complete collection of albums on CD, you will have to think about an external DVD writer. These appliances read, write and rewrite CDs and DVDs, and cost only $50 so you shouldnt be worried about it.

4. Netbooks are almost always better when it comes to the length of battery life. Notebook manufacturers try hard to expand the time between two charges in their product as well, but netbook parts are designed specifically for this. They are made so that they use electricity the most efficiently. Most recent chips dont add too much horse power on top of what we could in the last year, but they definitely push the limits of battery life.

5. Graphical performance differs greatly. While most laptops are now able to play 1080p HD video, netbooks struggle unless you choose one with Nvidia ION. It adds to the price but also narrows the performance gap between normal size laptops and the minis. With an ION based netbook you are going to be able to play even some popular online games, given that you go lower quality settings in-game. On a notebook you can play almost anything, but the category has its bad apples that barely run old games well.

Netbooks are quite different from normal size laptops but they are just as good for things theyre intended for. If you dont want to pay too much and cant care less about playing games, or have a separate computer to handle all those tasks, a netbook will be a great company during long trips.

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